The Kerala High Court in the case of Raju Sebastian and Ors v. Union of India held that the demand of details pertaining to the bank account of a person shall amount to infringement of Right to Privacy.
The appellants conduct petroleum retail outlets on the basis of the dealership agreements executed by them with the oil marketing companies. The appellants alleged that the oil marketing companies demanded them to furnish the sales tax returns, bank account statements and income tax returns pertaining to their dealership and on failure, the supply of petroleum products of them would be discontinued.
The issue before the present Court was the determination of whether furnishing of details of bank accounts and the income tax returns of a person infringes the right to privacy, which is a fundamental right.
The division Bench comprising of Justice C.K. Abdul Rehim and Justice C.K. Narayana Pisharadi held that “There can be no doubt with regard to the fact that details of the bank account of a person constitute personal and private information. The statement of account of a person in a bank would reveal the amount in deposit in the bank and the amounts deposited and withdrawn in the past. It would give a clear picture of a person’s financial capacity. It would disclose the cash transactions which a person had with third parties. It would reveal the amount transferred to and received by a person from another. It may show the loans availed of by a person from the bank. Habits of a person, his lifestyle, his association with other persons and many other personal matters can be deduced from close scrutiny of his bank account for some period. Therefore, we have no hesitation to hold that details of the bank account of a person constitute personal information and that any demand made to disclose such information amounts to infringement of his right to privacy.”
The Court hence held that a demand of bank details of a person shall amount to infringement of his Right to Privacy. Further, it held that the respondents had got no right to require the appellants to furnish their income tax returns and the bank account statements, as a condition for continuing the petroleum retail dealership granted to them.
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